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Ten Years in the Making

Paparoa Ranges

It took 10 years from the initial pre-feasibility study on mining under the remote Paparoa Ranges to gain the necessary mining permit, access agreements and resource consents, and then develop the Pike River mine.

Extensive consultation with interested parties, including the Department of Conservation (DOC), tangata whenua Ngati Waewae, local authorities, local communities, and other Crown agencies was undertaken over a period of 7 years.

The key issue in the time taken to gain approvals was to ensure those parties understood and were satisfied on the ways that Pike River would protect a largely undisturbed environment - including restoring the mine site to its natural state when mining ends.

Two Years of Tunnelling

Pike River spent two years tunnelling 2.3 kilometres under the Paparoa Ranges to reach the coal located about 150 metres below the surface.

The Paparoa Ranges are spectacular, largely unspoiled, and the Brunner seam is underneath land managed by DOC.

Before even starting the lengthy access negotiations and resource consents process, Pike River determined, following consultation with DOC and Ngati Waewae, that it would minimise surface environmental impacts by constructing an access tunnel to reach coal.

That meant tunnelling on a rising 1-in-11 gradient to intersect with the Brunner seam which runs at a similar uphill angle under the mountain ridge.

Schematic showing the Brunner and Paparoa Coal seams